Lens Investment Management Seeks Fifth Pioneer Board Seat

Lens Investment Management of Portland, Maine has nominated yet another director for the board of The Pioneer Group of Boston, Lens Investment Management announced today. Lens owns approximately 4.1 percent of Pioneer's stock.

Lens' nomination of George Siguler, managing director of Siguler Gruff & Co., a private equity management firm in Boston, marks the fifth director Lens has nominated to the Pioneer board in the past two months.

In mid-February, Lens nominated four other individuals to serve as Pioneer directors. Lens is pushing to increase shareholder value by pressuring management to sell the company. In response, last month Pioneer hired two investment banking firms to help it consider "strategic alternatives."

"The Lens candidates elected to Pioneer's board would press for the swift and successful sale of the company," said Lens in a statement. The Pioneer shareholder meeting is scheduled for May 16.

The Lens announcement coincides with the release of Pioneer's 1999 Annual Report. While Pioneer's asset management unit, Pioneer Investment Management, recorded 1999 net income of $35.4 million, its other operations suffered losses. In 1999, Pioneer's gold mining operation lost $73 million, and its venture capital operation lost $3.4 million.